


Deck The Halls With Boughs of Holly

by Browneyesparker



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Bughead Secret Santa 2010, Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Love, Riverdale, Romance, bughead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:47:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21961603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browneyesparker/pseuds/Browneyesparker
Summary: When Betty can't do her annual Christmas decorating, Jughead steps into do it for her.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37
Collections: Bughead Secret Santa, Home for the HoliDale





	Deck The Halls With Boughs of Holly

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Bughead Secret Santa gift for ms-maj! I so enjoyed getting to write this for you.
> 
> And a very Merry Christmas to my regular my readers! Here's something a little happier than the last chapter of High Society. I am so sorry it's been a while since I've posted in the Bughead fandom.

The lack of Christmas decorations was kind of concerning. Betty usually started pulling out her plastic containers from the attic the day after Halloween. The house would be strewn with the various holiday knick-knacks she had accumulated over the years until one day, he would come home from work and it had been transformed into a wonderland.

But this year, there were 3 weeks left until Christmas and there wasn’t a hint of tinsel to be seen. She hadn’t so much as lit a pine-scented candle or had a baking day. She had  _ talked  _ about getting a tree and setting up the custom-made Nativity scene that Nana Rose had given them their first Christmas as a married couple. But then she’d get a call from her boss or a direct message on Twitter from the author whose book she was editing, and she would be distracted again.

Jughead had usually been opposed to her over-decorating. A Charlie Brown tree and a few strands of multicolored lights on the porch would have been enough for him. Of all the years to be in the holiday spirit, it had to be the one where his festive minded wife was the busiest she had ever been. 

He supposed in this kind of situation, there was only one thing to do. He was just going to have to decorate himself. The only thing he didn’t know was where or how he was going to begin.

**.**

“You should probably hire a decorator,” Veronica told him. “You know, like a professional who knows what they’re doing. If you’re interested, I can give you the name of the person who decorates for me and Archie.”

Jughead frowned. “A professional decorator?” he repeated. “To come and decorate  _ my  _ house for  _ Christmas _ ? You do realize the holidays don’t last long enough to justify paying for someone else to hang up lights and put up a Christmas tree for you, right?” even though he knew it was fruitless to argue with her about her frivolous spending habits.

“I’ll pay for my decorating company to do it!” Veronica exclaimed excitedly. “Anything to make my best girl’s life easier this time of the year!” 

“I am perfectly capable of decorating by myself!” Jughead assured her hastily. “I’ve helped Betty a few times, I’m not completely illiterate when it comes to that stuff.” 

Even though he was, it was Betty’s winter wonderland and he just lived in it.

Veronica sighed. “Fine. But if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

Jughead was  _ sure  _ that he wasn’t going to need her help though. How hard could getting a house ready for Christmas be? He didn’t think it would be too difficult, Betty made it look so easy.

**.**

Except Jughead didn’t know where to begin. He guessed the best place to start was with the tree, but a trip to the Christmas tree lot proved to be confusing. The owner threw so many terms at him like  _ blue spruce  _ and  _ Fraiser fur _ s, his head was spinning. Betty always picked the most superb trees. He wished he had been paying better attention when she had dragged him along on her quests to pick out their tree. But she had spoken in a language he barely understood and he thought it best suited him to nod and go along with whatever she decided to do.

He finally chose a Douglas fir after the salesman said it would last the longest and made his way home. 

Betty was in her office when he got there. So, he made quick work of unloading and wrestling the tree into the living room. He got it set up in the stand and then pulled out his phone, googling whether or not he should put the lights on first or leave it for after he put the ornaments on. 

Feeling a little overwhelmed, he looked around at the living room. For a second, he contemplated taking Veronica up on her offer to pay for a professional decorator to come in and do it for him. But he dismissed the thought as quickly as it had entered his mind. He could try and put an effort in for his wife. 

She did it every year without help.

He pulled up his Spotify app, put on some Christmas music, and with renewed vigor he attacked the task at hand.

**.**

For the next 4 hours, he strung up lights and garland around the whole entire house. He set out Betty’s snowglobe collection, making sure it was out of reach of the twins. He hung the stockings on the mantle, ironed the tree skirt and carefully laid it out around the tree. He put up wreaths, sprayed the windows with snow in a can, and cut holly boughs from the bushes in front of their house. He tied mistletoe over their door and spread out a plaid tablecloth on the table. 

When he was sure it was enough, he kept going because that’s what he had seen Betty do in those situations. Every inch of the house had to be covered in  _ something _ to do with the holiday season. 

So, he followed a Youtube tutorial and cut snowflakes out of white printer paper and put them all over the house. Finally, he set out the Nativity set from Nana Rose on the counter before going outside to get a head start on decorating the porch before it got too dark. 

He just wanted to make sure he was back inside and everything was lit up before Betty came downstairs for dinner. He was surprised she hadn’t already come down to check on him since they usually spent their afternoons working together. 

A little while later, he ordered takeout for dinner and went around the house, cleaning up the mess he had made and turning on all the lights. He was finished just in the nick of time. He could hear Betty coming down the stairs.

“I have such a headache!” Betty called. “You would think a major author would know how to structure a story properly…” she trailed off. “Juggie! What did you do!?”

“I decorated the house for you,” Jughead answered, glowing with pride a little bit. “Are you surprised?” 

“Jug. . . this is one of the sweetest things you’ve  _ ever  _ done for me!” Betty said, coming over to him. “I-I can’t believe it!”

“Did I do a good job? Is it too much?” Jughead asked anxiously. “I know that decorating the house is usually your area of expertise. It’s just that you’ve been so busy and I know how much you love Christmas, I wanted to do something to help—”

“It’s not too much! You went above and beyond what you had to do!” Betty assured him as she went over to him and planted a kiss on his mouth. “Oh Juggie, I love it! Thank you so much!”

Jughead smiled at her sheepishly. “I did leave some of the tree for you to decorate. . . for later, when you have the time.”

“That sounds like the perfect thing to do tonight,” Betty answered.

**The End**  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
